Theresa Thomson Malaney
On being a mother. I’ve selected an eclectic mix of images from my practice, made over many years and periods of motherhood. Being an artist and being a mother: these are more than what I do. They are what I am. Ever since I can remember, I thought of myself as a drawer, a maker, even though I did not work professionally in this field until decades into my adult life. However, creativity finds a way of emerging, pushing through. Mum, Mother, mummy...even before the birth, the weight of responsibility for the person growing inside me. Artist/ mother. I’m sculpted by both, continually evolve as both. There is no one way or even right way of doing or being either. I make it up as I go along, with the best intentions and to the best of my abilities. Still learning. Both ways of being have to come from the heart, be open to risk (even loss), joy, celebration, a careful balance between attachment and letting go.
From life drawing to printmaking, I made an unplanned journey to Glasgow School of Art, and joyfully studied painting and printmaking, B.A, then M.Litt., delving into mixed media and installations along the way. As a natural progression my need for people and community drew me to participatory practice. I found that being intuitive, fluid and playful, learned through parenting, were transferable skills to my creative work with people. I’m interested in exploring reproductive transitions in the lives of women informed by my lived experience. I see puberty and menopause as ‘mirror transitions’, significant stages in women's reproductive lives: creative practice is a medium through which I aim to celebrate and engage others to celebrate our mothering and being mothered.
